DUISBURGER HAFEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Their core work

Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) operates the world's largest inland port, located at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers in Duisburg, Germany. They manage multimodal logistics infrastructure connecting inland waterway, rail, and road freight transport across Europe and beyond. In H2020 projects, they contribute real-world port operations data, testbed environments for smart logistics concepts, and domain expertise in intermodal freight handling and inland waterway transport innovation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Early projects (2017) combined big-data digitalization of logistics (TT) with foundational inland waterway transport research (NOVIMAR). By 2020, the focus shifted decisively toward Physical Internet concepts, synchromodality, autonomous vessel technologies, and global trade corridor integration (Silk Road, Arctic routes). The trajectory shows a move from incremental digital optimization toward rethinking entire freight transport architectures.

Duisport is positioning itself at the intersection of autonomous inland shipping and Physical Internet logistics — expect them to seek partners in smart infrastructure, AI-driven scheduling, and green corridor development.

How they like to work

Duisport participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as an infrastructure operator contributing real-world testbed environments rather than leading research agendas. With 129 unique partners across 26 countries in just 4 projects, they operate in very large consortia (averaging 30+ partners per project). This makes them an accessible, low-friction partner who adds immediate credibility and operational grounding to transport and logistics proposals.

With 129 unique consortium partners across 26 countries from only 4 projects, duisport has an exceptionally broad European network in the transport and logistics research community. Their partnerships span nearly the entire EU, reflecting the pan-European nature of freight corridor research.

What sets them apart

Duisport is not a research lab or a technology vendor — it is the operator of the world's largest inland port, which makes it an irreplaceable real-world validation partner for any logistics or waterway innovation project. Few organizations can offer a live multimodal hub handling millions of containers annually as a testbed. For consortium builders, having duisport on board signals operational relevance and a clear path from research to deployment.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ePIcenter
  Their largest funded project (EUR 222,500), tackling the ambitious Physical Internet concept with global scope including Arctic and Silk Road trade routes.
• NOVIMOVE
  Explores futuristic inland waterway concepts — vessel trains, smart locks, Galileo-based navigation — directly aligned with duisport's core infrastructure.
• TT
  Transforming Transport was a flagship big-data project across multiple transport domains, giving duisport its entry point into data-driven logistics research.